Draw kicks off the race to Madrid

The 36 European title winners involved have discovered what awaits them in the first and second qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League following today's first draws at UEFA headquarters.

Long journeys
Belarussian champions FC BATE Borisov, who made it to the group stage last season, have been handed a second qualifying round tie against FK Makedonija GP Skopje. Elsewhere, teams will be racking up air miles, with Northern Ireland's Glentoran FC kicking off with a long trip to Israel to face Maccabi Haifa FC while Iceland's FH Hafnarfjördur take on FK Aktobe from Kazakhstan.

'Anything can happen'
"Maybe other teams would have had a problem with this draw but we will manage," said Aktobe managing director Vasili Yurchenko. "It will not present a problem for us despite the distance." FH president Jón Rúnar Halldórsson added: "Aktobe were not top of our list when we looked at possible opponents, but we have to take what's coming. Anything can happen; that's how the draw works."

Important dates
The draw for the third qualifying round takes place in Nyon on 17 July at 12.00CET. The final of this season's competition will be held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on Saturday 22 May 2010.

Seeded teams in bold